[fimoreth]

It could be just because we're coming from Android, but my friend and I experienced an approachability problem with the iPad about a month ago.

I was using an iPad on a flight (the in-flight entertainment was broken) and it took us, both computer engineers, a good ten minutes to figure out how to turn down the brightness. It was a painful experience trying to find the settings - swipe down? No.. swipe other directions, nope.

It took us forever to discover that 'settings' is just an app on the tablet.

Maybe it was just because we are part of the Android ecosystem, but using one didn't seem very logical.

Note: Neither of us specifically avoid Apple products, but just found them way too expensive with university for purchase.

[skygazer]

As an iOS guy, I've had an exactly reciprocal experience struggling to navigate Android to change seemingly basic settings. I think our mutual difficulties make more sense if we assume "intuitive" is secretly a synonym for "familiar." We've quietly absorbed our preferred platforms preferred metaphors and idioms over time, and they're intricate and (hopefully) self-consistent.

Without intending to sound too flowery, what I find most interesting though is that the competition between the platforms seems to simultaneously drive both convergence and differentiation that's almost — musical. If you step back and watch the entwined evolutions you can see a lot of mutual love and hate.